Cognitive Adaptations to Harsh Environments

Growing up in a harsh environment has a major impact on cognition. People from such environments tend to score lower on a variety of cognitive tests. The predominant view in psychology is, therefore, that chronic exposure to harsh conditions impairs cognition. I have recently challenged this consensus by proposing that harsh environments do not exclusively impair cognition. Rather, people also developmentally adapt, or specialize, their minds for solving problems relevant in such conditions. These problems might require different skills and abilities from those assessed on conventional tests. This hypothesis predicts harsh-adapted people may show enhanced performance on tasks that match recurrent problems in their environments, compared with safe-adapted people. In this talk, I will present results of a preregistered study examining whether exposure to, and involvement in, violence enhances peoples (N=126) learning and memory for danger, but not for location, information. The better we understand harsh-adapted mindsincluding their strengthsthe more effective we can tailor education, policy, and interventions to fit their needs and potentials.